A Nova Scotia-based artist has a technique of turning what one might consider trash into a unique piece of artwork.
American-born artist Johnston Foster collects and then creates his work inside his studio in Bedford, N.S.
"The collecting is just as important as the creating," said Foster. "Sometimes the materials are collected but they don't really have any destination or a focus of what they could become."
Over the years, Foster has collected rows upon rows of materials to use for future pieces.
"As a young artist and as a student, I didn't have a lot of money to buy art supplies, so I used what was readily available to me," he said.
Now, Foster makes a living from his art.
"I also just like this idea of, transformation is taking something and resurrecting it and giving it a whole other purpose," Foster said.
Foster has exhibited widely throughout the United States and Europe.
His largest piece is an immersive beehive installation at the 21C Museum Hotel Bentonville in Arkansas.
"It’s the largest piece I’ve ever made," he said. "The walls of the entire restaurant are made by vines made of scrap metal, garden hoses.”
Foster's latest fascination is with broken wood furniture.
“I can spot chairs and a little leg sticking out of a pile of garbage. My eye is attuned to that at this point,” he said.
His most recent work, featured in his family's apparel shop Thief and Bandit in downtown Halifax, is a tribute to his new Canadian roots.
“Hockey and moose are just so inherent to Canada that it just seemed like a no-brainer," he said.
